


Pressing Issues

by samos7



Series: Mistrust [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21678139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samos7/pseuds/samos7
Summary: “In a half hour, Peter was about to host his first press conference as his revealed identity. Whether or not people were in support of Peter as the masked vigilante, Tony was certain that all of New York would be tuning in to hear what he had to say.Peter seemed to have realized this as well, given that he looks ready to crawl out the window.”—Or, AU where everything from Far From Home is the same except Tony was in a coma.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Mistrust [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562758
Comments: 9
Kudos: 204
Collections: Spider-Man Public Identity Reveal





	Pressing Issues

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a part two from another fic I wrote, but it could also be read on it’s own. I’m still new to writing fanfiction, but please enjoy anyway!

Tony didn’t get nervous when it came to press conferences. He’s (unfortunately) had more than enough experience throughout his years to know how to present himself in the eye of the public. He kept most people at an arm's length, using a cocky persona that made people either love or hate him, though usually the latter.  
  
One issue about this conference however, was that he wasn’t actually speaking in it. The world currently thought of him as dead, still in a coma and never to wake up. He and Pepper have yet to decide how they wanted to announce his awakening, or if they even wanted to at all.  
  
On any other occasion, avoiding reporters would make him want to celebrate. This time however...  
  
This time, Peter hasn’t stopped pacing since they’ve arrived backstage.  
  
In a half hour, Peter was about to host his first press conference as his revealed identity. Whether or not people were in support of Peter as the masked vigilante, Tony was certain that all of New York would be tuning in to hear what he had to say.  
  
Peter seemed to have realized this as well, given that he looks ready to crawl out the window.  
  
He and May made eye contact from across the room, both easily noticing the chaotic mess that seemed to define Peter Parker. May raised her eyebrow, silently asking who would be the better fit to temporarily calm Peter’s nerves. Tony nodded his head in her direction, giving her the floor.  
  
May’s eyes filled with determination as she walked over to Peter and placed a hand on his bicep. Despite the gentleness of the touch, Peter still visibly jumped. Tony was fully intending to listen into whatever comfort May was about to provide until he felt little hands tugging on his prosthetic arm.  
  
“Daddy, why is Peter sad?”  
  
Tony lifted Morgan from the ground so she was sitting securely in his arms. “Peter’s not sad, he’s just really nervous.”  
  
“Then why is he nervous?” Morgan asked once more, with pure curiosity that only a five year old could possess.   
  
“He has to talk in front of a lot of people today”  
  
Morgan adorably furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “But no one thinks Spiderman is a bad guy, so he has nothing to worry about.” Tony couldn’t help but smile at her logic, she did have a point.  
  
There was no longer the question of whether or not Peter was guilty for the attack of London. The Baby Monitor footage that was released to the public was more than enough evidence to prove Peter’s innocence. Now there was only the question of whether or not New York should be relying on someone as young as Peter to protect them. Personally, Tony didn’t think there was anyone more capable, and he knew the people of New York would eventually think so as well. Hell, half of them already do.  
  
Of course, that didn’t stop Peter from freaking out, and Tony couldn’t really blame him.  
  
He leaned over and whispered in Morgan’s ear. “Why don’t you go tell Peter that, it might make him feel better.”  
  
“Okay!” Tony sat Morgan down and watched as she ran towards the two Parkers with a mission in mind. She latched onto Peter’s leg and looked up at him with a smile that lit up the entire room. The light became practically blinding when Peter smiled back, the first genuine smile that Tony had seen from him that evening.  
  
Though he has seen Morgan and Peter together countless of times these past few weeks, the sight never failed to take his breath away. It was moments like this that made it all worth it to Tony: the lost arm, the nine month coma, all of it. In all honesty, watching his two kids interact with one another made him much more emotional than he would ever like to admit.  
  
Peter was now bending down so he was at eye level with Morgan, nodding his head and listening intently to whatever Morgan had to say. The fact that anyone thought of Peter as a mass murderer was laughable in instances like these.  
  
Suddenly, Tony’s chest ached at the thought of what Peter has gone through since the snap had been reversed. Sometimes he didn’t think the kid would ever catch a break. Tony had made it his goal to ensure tonight goes as smoothly as possible. While he was annoyed that he couldn’t physically be up there with Peter during the conference, he would do everything in his power to offer his help and support.  
  
Pepper walked in the room then, gathering everyone’s attention while only directly speaking to Peter.  
  
“Sweetheart, we’re on in ten minutes, I would suggest finding your seat and getting situated.”  
  
Peter stood and attempted to hide the terror in his eyes by looking down at the tiled floor. May swiftly picked Morgan up then kissed Peter’s cheek, offering him one final ‘good luck’ before walking out to find her designated seat on the balcony, out of sight from the press but still able to watch the conference with ease.  
  
Pepper gave Peter a once over, her eyebrows furrowing in concern, much like Morgan’s had earlier. She looked over to Tony and nodded, quickly turning to leave and finish her next task. That purposefully left Peter and Tony alone.  
  
Looks like it’s his turn for comfort. He decided to first take the casual approach.  
  
“You ready to wow them kiddo?”  
  
“No.”  
  
An honest, one worded answer... this isn’t good. He quickly ditched the casual approach, seeing that it wasn’t going to be beneficial. Tony walked over and placed his hands on each of his shoulders, then waited a couple more seconds until Peter finally looked up at him.  
  
“Just say the word and we’ll get you out, alright?” Peter simply shook his head in response, but Tony continued, trying to drive his point across. “Hey I’m serious, you’ll have both Pepper and Happy by your side, simply give them a heads up and Happy will do his job to get you out of there safely.“  
  
Peter still didn’t agree with him, acting as stubborn as ever. “This is going to be on live television, I can’t just walk out when I get uncomfortable.”  
  
“And why not? You don’t owe those reporters anything.”  
  
“But wouldn’t that be really lame?”  
  
“Not at all, I’ve walked out of interviews countless of times. It shows people who’s boss.”  
  
Peter humorlessly chuckled. “Okay but you’re Tony Stark.”  
  
“And you’re Spiderman, I don’t see your point.”  
  
“I’m not Spiderman right now, I’m just Peter Parker.”  
  
Oh no, that logic simply won’t do. There was nothing ‘just’ about Peter Parker.  
  
“Kid, need I remind you that Spiderman and Peter Parker are the exact same person.”  
  
Peter looked at him skeptically, and though he didn’t say anything, Tony could tell that he still didn’t believe him.  
  
“What if I say something wrong?” Peter then asked with the smallest tremble in his voice. It concerned Tony how much Peter seemed to close in on himself as of lately. But that was a problem for later.  
  
“Just say the truth when you’re out there and you’ll be just fine. Besides, we’ve been preparing all week for this.” Peter let out a tiny laugh at that. Good, that was progress.  
  
For the past few days, Morgan and Tony have been ‘playing interview’ with Peter. Tony asked questions that would most likely be brought up in today’s conference and listened closely to Peter’s responses. From there, he and Pepper critiqued his answers as kindly as they could, explaining how to approach media in situations like this. Morgan was there to make the practice sessions less daunting, her secret job was to lighten the mood for Peter.

Pepper’s voice was the one to break his thoughts, “You have five more minutes.”  
  
Peter visibly paled then, turning back to Tony. “I really wish you could be up there with me.”  
  
Peter’s shy declaration caused Tony’s chest to ache once more. “I know kiddo, me too, but I have complete faith that you’re going to be amazing out there.”  
  
“You really think so?”

“I know so.”  
  
And how could he not, Tony has never met someone so inherently good. Peter has a way of making anyone adore him, whether they wanted to or not.

~~~

The interview started out well enough. Peter was a stuttering mess and Tony thought he was going to pass out at one point, yet he still answered everything that was thrown his way. The questions began as expected: how did he get his powers, where did his webs come from, etc. Whenever someone would ask about friends, family, or anything else regarding his personal life, Peter refused to respond, causing Tony to burst with pride.  
  
“Uh, yes to the blonde lady in the blue sweater- I’m sorry, I don’t know everyone’s name.”  
  
“Barbara Miller, New York Post. Why was there an initial hesitancy on sharing your identity to the public.” Tony thought this was a stupid question, and if he were currently on stage he would have said exactly so.  
  
“Oh... well uh, I think I’m still hesitant. I guess in an ideal world, I would have liked myself and Spiderman to be separate entities.”  
  
“How come?” The reporter pressed on. Tony rolled his eyes.  
  
“Safety.” That was the first answer of the night that came immediately to Peter, as if it has crossed his mind on multiple occasions. “I mean, I’m not an idiot, I know that being Spiderman is a huge risk- danger kinda follows me wherever I go.” Peter pauses and gives an awkward laugh, only to quickly sober up. “I thought if I could keep my identity a secret, then I could keep the danger away from others... but that didn’t really work out.”  
  
From where Tony was hiding backstage, he could see Peter’s hands shaking uncontrollably from under the table. He could tell that the noise and lights were starting to affect him. Tony wondered how much longer he could last before he went into a sensory overload (probably not much). He attempted to bring this to Happy’s attention by whistling and impatiently snapping his fingers until he heard his name being spoken in the next question.  
  
“The Spiderman footage that was released references Tony Stark and your personal involvement in his demise, would you care to you elaborate further-” Pepper snatched the microphone before the question was finished.  
  
“Tony Stark is not dead, and you have no right to speak of him in that way. I find it highly inappropriate that you would even think of asking Mr. Parker a question like that.” The threatening tone of her voice could scare the Hulk away and Tony couldn’t help but smile.  
  
“Maybe you should let Mr. Parker decide what questions he wants to answer.”  
  
“I think-“ Peter started, causing everyone to turn their attention back to him. He nervously cleared his throat and spoke once more. “I think there were things on Titan that could have been done differently.” When Peter didn’t go into any further detail, the press went wild, causing his face to scrunch up as if he were in pain. He probably was at this point.  
  
“Do you think Tony Stark would be proud of you today?” One reporter asked, his voice carrying over the rest.  
  
Tony did a double take when he didn’t hear a response from Peter right away. The silence dragged on for longer than anticipated, and even Happy seemed surprised by the lack of answer.  
  
“I hope so” Peter eventually said, his voice so quiet that the microphone barely picked him up. Another reporter rushed to speak and that was Tony’s breaking point.  
  
“Do you feel any responsibility over Tony Stark’s coma?”  
  
This wasn’t his first rodeo with press conferences thank you very much, and he knew exactly what these reporters were attempting to do. Subtly pry information out of Peter only to later twist the story and paint Spiderman as the villain. They did it with the Battle of London and now they were doing it with the War with Thanos. Tony refused to let that happen.  
  
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath while pulling out his sunglasses. Before Tony could psych himself out, he walked on stage and put on his best publicity smile. waving at the press that were now in front of him. This caused an audible gasp from the audience. He made sure to speak loud and clear so even the back of the room could hear him.  
  
“Surprise, I’m back.” That only stirred more chaos, and he couldn’t help but smirk, proud of his doings. Tony waltzed over to where Peter was seated, picking up the microphone in front of him and taking over.  
  
“Since you can’t seem to keep my name out of your mouth, I thought I would pay a visit and answer some questions myself” Tony made sure to sound as condescending as possible, not bothering to hide his displeasure. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Morgan energetically waving at him. He dropped his act just for a moment to smile and wave back, satisfied when he saw her giggle from the balcony. He then turned to the group of reporters who were originally asking the questions about him, pointing in their direction.  
  
“You, what establishment do you work for.”  
  
“The Daily Bulge sir” one of them hesitantly responded.  
  
Huh, figures.  
  
Tony took his glasses off and gave the most menacing glare he could muster. It seemed to do the trick when the reporters broke eye contact, fidgeting in one way or another.  
  
“Well go ahead, ask what you want. We don’t have all day.”  
  
One of the reporters, not from Daily Bulge, was brave enough to face him. “Mr. Stark, when did you wake up from your coma and how is your recovery process?”  
  
Tony raised an eyebrow at that. “While I am flattered, this press conference isn’t about me. If you were a professional you would know to keep the questions on the topic of Spiderman. Next.”  
  
Despite the ridiculous amount of reporters in the room, no one else was brave enough to speak out. In fact, they all seemed to be in a state of shock.  
  
“Alright, if no one has any more questions then I’ll give a closing statement.” He squinted his eyes, silently daring someone to protest. No one did.  
  
“The questions that were asked tonight were extremely insensitive, please remember that you’re talking to a teenager with PTSD that matches war veterans, clearly his answers are going to be biased. I will not let you write a story that reads Peter appear as unreliable to this city.” Tony placed his good hand on Peter’s shoulder, partly for silent comfort but mostly to keep him still. The kid looked ready to hide under the table.  
  
“To say that I’m proud of Spiderman would be a complete understatement. Peter has done more in his seventeen years then most people do in their entire lifetime. He shows intelligence, bravery, and selflessness in every act he does. This kid is going to change the world for the better, both as Spiderman and Peter Parker.” He took an intentional pause to let his words fully sink in. “Alright, no more further questions, Happy grab the kid and lets go.”  
  
~~~  
  
“ _Tony Stark, are you out of your goddamn mind_.”  
  
“ _What was I supposed to do Pep,_ someone had to defend the kid, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to do it himself.”  
  
“That was my job, you should have just let me handle it. God Tony, tomorrow is going to be an absolute nightmare because of this.”  
  
“It was going to be a nightmare either way, don’t give me all of the credit.”  
  
“You are _insufferable._ ” Tony smiled at that.  
  
“Yet you love me anyway.”  
  
Pepper simply glared at him in response, but she didn’t deny it. Tony opened his mouth, ready to call his victory until May interrupted.  
  
“Both of you _keep it down_ and save the theatrics for another day. We have one kid asleep and another kid in the middle of a sensory overload.”  
  
A combination of guilt and shame consumed Tony in an instant. Sometimes he forgot how intense Peter’s hearing truly was. With the flashes from the cameras paired with the yells of the reporters, it was no wonder Peter’s senses became overwhelmed.  
  
Pepper dropped her voice to almost a whisper, a look of regret taking over her face. “Sorry May, we’ll be quiet. How’s Peter doing?”  
  
May let out a sigh. “Not very well, he’s barely said anything since the interview has ended and it’s honestly starting to worry me.” Tony couldn’t help but agree.  
  
“Just give him some time until the overload passes over and I’m sure he’ll go back to his chatty self in no time. Would you like me to check on the kid, see if he’s alright?”  
  
May considered this for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I think he would actually like that, just make sure to not talk too loudly. And maybe try and get him to eat a protein bar or something, he didn’t have much before the press conference.”  
  
Tony raised his good arm in mock salute, “at your service Mrs. Parker.” He saw May roll her eyes before turning to walk upstairs.  
  
He opened the bedroom door as silently as he could, but Peter still flinched as he walked in. He made sure to keep his voice as quiet as humanly possible, just how May advised.  
  
“Hey kid, how are you holding up?”  
  
Peter begrudgingly lifted his face from the pillow, his hair flying all over the place. In that moment, he looked a lot younger then he has in a while. “I’m pretty sure I’m dying.”  
  
“For some reason I highly doubt that.”  
  
Peter groaned, facing the pillow and curling into himself. “I don’t feel so good.”  
  
The words made Tony pause. That was exactly what Peter said before he was dusted in his arms, all those years ago. Peter didn’t seem to make the connection and if he weren’t currently in so much pain, he definitely would have noticed Tony’s odd reaction. He closed his eyes and forced his breathing to even out.  
  
“I’m sorry to hear that Pete.” Tony’s voice sounded hoarse even in his own ears, and that was when Peter properly looked up at him.  
  
“Mr. Stark, are you alright?”  
  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine- don’t worry about me.” Time to change the subject. “I brought a protein bar for you to munch on” Peter pulled a face of disgust.  
  
“Do I have to?”  
  
“Depends, when was the last time you’ve eaten something?”  
  
When there was no response from Peter, Tony decided to take matters into his own hands. He slowly sat down at the edge of the bed, then placed a hand through his hair, combing out the knots with gentle fingers.  
  
“That feels nice” Peter whispered into his thigh. He looked and sounded completely worn out, and Tony didn’t think he’d be able to eat anything, let alone sit up from the bed.   
  
“If you’re not going to eat then you should at least try and sleep. Don’t think I didn’t notice your all nighter from last night.”  
  
Peter stiffened at that. “Did FRIDAY snitch on me again?”  
  
“She’s just following her protocol.”  
  
Peter only hummed in response. Tony thought he could definitely get him to sleep if he stepped it up a notch. He slowly moved himself and Peter so they were both properly laying on the bed. Peter didn’t seem too happy with the shuffling, but he let out a content sign after his head was resting on Tony’s chest. He put his hand back in his hair, lightly brushing locks of curls away from his face.  
  
“Want me to get you anything?”  
  
“No it’s okay, it doesn't hurt as much.” Tony didn’t believe him for a second but he decided not to call him out on his bluff.  
  
“Rest your eyes kiddo, I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep.” Peter looked up at him with heavy emotion in his eyes.  
  
“Are you sure?”  
  
Instead of a verbal response, Tony pulled Peter’s body closer. They stayed like this for a while, the weight of Peter making him feel a state of calm. He regrets the years where he attempted to push Peter away. Ever since the Blip had been reversed he has initiated more physical contact than he ever thought was possible, with tight hugs and shoulder bumps and even a few kisses on the forehead. He could tell that it sometimes surprised Peter from the way he would tense up in shock, only to relax moments later. One time Peter hugged him first, all stiff and awkward as if he didn’t know if it were allowed, and Tony just about cried on the spot.   
  
So Tony continued his hand movements, hoping the steady rhythm could lure him to slumber. After some time, he thought he finally succeeded in getting Peter to fall asleep until he heard a voice speak up, slurred and drowsy.  
  
“Thanks Mr. Stark.”  
  
“Pete, you don’t ever have to thank me.”  
  
“Still, thank you... you didn’t have to do all that.” Peter didn’t need to further explain what he was talking about. He tried to lift his head up but Tony applied light pressure from his fingers. Peter took the hint and rested once more. “Did you mean what you said out there?”  
  
Tony kissed his forehead, and was happy when he didn’t feel Peter tense up this time around.  
  
“Every word kiddo.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
